"Stands on his head daily at 83"

You never know what you'll find in the Dispatch library's old photo print archives.

In May 1964, a man named Willy Meyer visited the Dispatch newsroom and stood on his head.

What made it interesting was that Meyer was 83 years old at the time.

The Dispatch reported that he "turns upside down and counts to 20 every day to keep his mind
alert."

The story, "Upside Down Willy," profiled the new Columbus citizen, who spoke in a thick German
accent. After his wife passed away, he moved to Columbus to be near his son, who was a
surgeon at St. Anthony's Hospital, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. Previously, he and
his wife lived in Jamaica, New York, where they ran restaurants and night clubs.

"Willy proclaims he is so healthy because he has been a gymnast since birth and a vegetarian in
later years," The Dispatch reported. He was also a self-proclaimed inventor and numerologist.

"I'll bet anyone in Columbus over 80 $10," he said, "that they can’t stand on their heads to the
count of 20."

He had photographs taken of him performing the stunt at Yellowstone National Park, the Grand
Canyon, Catalina Island, the 1939 World's Fair and in numerous friends' backyards.

What made Willy such a happy man at 83?

"I had so much fun in my life. I make people laugh -- and still do today."